MUST SEE MOVIE.

I loveeee recommending movies. and I like recommending documentaries even more because it takes a very distinct and different type of documentary to keep my attention span. there are two that I have seen in the last month that I thoroughly enjoyed.

1. exit through the gift shop.

It follows the development of street art and in particular this sort of "transformation" of a "Mr. Brainwash" into what can only be described as a pompous asshole... or maybe a genius? who knows. I think that is what the documentary is trying to tell us. only the audience can really decide. And sometimes the audience just follows the crowd and decides that shit is gold... $1 million worth of shit. Banksy is the unknown yet famous street artist who directs the film. he is known for art like this

and this

and this

Banksy likes to put these in places such as walls in palestine and busy streets near important governmental buildings in England. Banksy's art is great to look at because it is original and you can tell that he knows what he likes and also what he questions. It's not controversial besides the fact that instead of being placed in an art gallery for a million dollars, his art is in the streets so everyone can enjoy.

anywho, this french immigrant filmmaker, known as "Mr. Brainwash" gets soooo into the idea of street art that he makes a documentary and then slowly turns into a street artist himself. He tries to replicate Banksy and other street artists' sort of... art revolution?... its not really a "revolution" but I do think it has affected lots of people in lots of ways and no one can really replicate it ever again. Needless to say, Mr. Brainwash completely BLOWS IT.

Whether the film is trying to make mr. brainwash look bad or if it just a mockumentary about how superficial the art industry is and how people, especially "hip" people with a lot of money, try to be the coolest with the most expensive "daring" art out there, the "character" of mr. brainwash succeeds in blowing. hard. If Banksy is trying to embody this superficial and follower attitude that plagues the art industry, he does it well with mr. brainwash. I think the film is brilliant and if it should teach any of us anything it is:  don't be a mr. brainwash. find your own creative expressions and do something different, not just for money. don't buy art just because everyone else is buying art. really try and get in tune with what catches your eye and what sparks your fancy.

2. touching the void

I found this sweet docu-drama through my mom's netflix. thanks mom! It's about two British young chaps that decide to do something completely stupid and dangerous and climb to the top of the andes. I can't remember exactly what peak in the andes it is but... does it really matter? They are crazy nonetheless!! I wish i had the balls. 

As the two men are re-telling their very emotional story, two actors are also reenacting the journey. thus you have a docu-drama. i like the word docu-drama. it makes a documentary instantly seem more fun. i want to CREATE a docu-drama.

What I love about this film is that the two actual climbers are so REAL. they talk about it as if they had just lived it a week ago. if you see it, and you should, i'm sure you will be thinking the same thing i was thinking during the whole move, "what would i do in this situation?" "would I do the same?" you can't really blame either of them for anything that happened up in those mountains because you just have no idea what you would do in the same situation. a state of panic can make us act in ways that are completely opposite of our personality. either way, the fact that these two men survived to tell the story makes me think how completely unbelievable our bodies are. and how crazy humanity is in general. we put our bodies through so much. we put each other through so much. at the end of it we are only yearning for more connection. we are only trying to make our bodies last one more day. what a struggle. and you never really know when your body has had enough. maybe your body never really has enough. maybe it is all in your mind. mind over body? chicken or egg?